LETTER: Maurice Hinchey's efforts appreciated

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Dear Editor:

While I knew that Maurice Hinchey would leave the Congress, I am still saddened that he won't be representing us any longer.

As your paper so adequately described (Jan. 6), Hinchey, D-Saugerties, leaves a stellar record for his work with environmental issues while as a member of the Assembly and the House. During my years as a biologist with the Department of Environmental Conservation in New Paltz, I had the pleasure and opportunity to work with Hinchey, on several key conservation issues that would significantly impact the Catskill region and the Hudson River Valley.

In the early 1970s, fisheries staff from the Region 3 office were made aware that high water temperatures in the main stem Delaware River were causing large numbers of large brown and rainbow trout to seek refuge off the mouths of feeder streams to survive. Biologists and technicians visited the Delaware and recorded water temperatures in the mid-80s, levels lethal to trout survival.

Since the New York City Department of Environmental Protection controlled the release of water to the branches of the Delaware, calls were made to that agency for additional flow, so the temperatures could be mitigated. Those requests were denied. So began a five-year struggle to find a way to increase the flows to the east and west Branches of the Delaware River, Neversink River and stabilize flows to the Esopus Creek via the Shandaken Tunnel.

The flow issue was ultimately resolved after legislation introduced in the Assembly by Hinchey was signed by the governor, mandating the DEP release additional water to these Catskill streams, thereby eliminating thermal stress and erratic flow problems.

The additional flows, lowered summer water temperatures and significantly increased the number of miles of cold water fisheries available to anglers below the reservoirs. This issue would not have been resolved without Hinchey's involvement. As a result, many of us think that the water release legislation, as these laws are known, to be some of the most significant conservation work completed in the late 1900s.

Later, Hinchey sponsored legislation that provided funding to begin management of the Hudson's fisheries resources. The legislation resulted in the establishment of a unit in the regional DEC office at New Paltz, staffed to work only on Hudson River related fisheries issues.

These were important and sometimes politically difficult issues to resolve, particularly those associated with water releases. Yet because of Hinchey's efforts, they got done. Will miss you Maurice, and best in your retirement!